THE FASTEST DRUMMER

Robbins and Chapman profile an extraordinary percussionist.

Viola Smith wondered what instrument she could play in the Smith Sisters Orchestra along with her five siblings. She tried drums and cymbals and was hooked! After Papa taught her to hold the drumsticks properly, she joined her sisters as they played exuberant jazz tunes in his Wisconsin ballroom; patrons loved dancing to Viola’s spitfire rhythms. Thirteen-year-old Viola sought other drummers’ advice and drummed faster the more she practiced. In time, Viola’s sisters stopped playing, but she carried on, anxious to play professionally—tough for a woman in the 1930s. To change minds about female musicians’ abilities, Viola formed her own women’s band. The group became renowned, and Viola was dubbed “the fastest girl drummer in the world.” Wanting to help other female musicians, she wrote a magazine article when World War II started, encouraging big-name bands to hire women to replace servicemen. Viola herself performed with world-class bands and drummers. She started a solo act and played with symphony orchestras. Viola Smith was still drumming at age 100! Pulsing with energy, this lively book shines a much-deserved spotlight on an artist who became renowned playing an instrument most commonly associated with men. Appropriately, onomatopoeic words representing the sounds of drum crashes cavort playfully throughout the eye-popping watercolor, gouache, cut-paper, and digital illustrations.

Bang the drums—loudly—for this arresting account of a gifted virtuoso.